Muslim share in govt jobs moving upwards

NEW DELHI: The intake of Muslims in central government bodies has increased by over 3% in six years, reflecting a visible improvement in the community's share of public sector jobs that the UPA marked out as priority after coming to power in 2004.

Government figures show that the recruitment of minorities in central government organizations stood at 10.18% in 2010-11, up from 6.93% in 2006-07.

 The 3% increase in employment across sectors in the last six years coincides with the directives that the Centre issued to ministries and departments that they should take special measures — publicity campaigns about recruitment drives and inclusion of minority members in interview panels — to boost minority presence in jobs.

Minority has been a thinly-disguised term for Muslims who form an overwhelming share of religious minorities.

Social activist and former National Advisory Council member Harsh Mander dubbed the increase as significant and credited the community for the success.

"It is the outcome of efforts on the part of community members to break out of restraints on social mobility they have been traditionally bound by," he said, adding the government contribution in the trend was smaller.

The percentage of minorities in total hiring across central government jobs was 6.93% in 2006-07. It went up to 8.23%, 9.90%, 7.28% and 10.18% in the following years. Sensing inconsistency, the ministry has called for review of the 2011-12 figures that stand at a dismal 6.24%.

The significance of increasing number of Muslims in central recruitment extends beyond mere job share. That they are joining paramilitary forces and railways, the largest public sector employers, in greater numbers could start a robust trend for future. The community's increasing share in the police force would also strengthen their confidence in security matters.

Minority affairs minister Rahman Khan said, "There is improvement in certain sectors while it is not satisfactory in others. We keep insisting to ministries that they should follow government circulars to beef up turnout and intake of minorities in recruitment drives."

The creation of minority affairs ministry, followed by the Sachar committee which gave a post-independence status report on the state of Muslims, swatted aside the reluctance that Congress had about playing a muscular Muslim card for fear of rival BJP launching its campaign of "appeasement".
http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-08-19/india/41424784_1_minority-affairs-ministry-recruitment-drives-muslim-share

Muslims unhappy Gita to be taught in Madrasas and urdu schools in Madhya Pradesh

The state government of Madhya Pradesh wants to introduce chapters from a Hindu book Bhagavad Gita into the curriculum of Madrasas and Urdu schools. The government wants to make it compulsory for young students in Islamic schools of Madhya Pradesh to read chapters from Gita.
This decision triggers a storm in Muslim community and various Muslim organizations and prominent Muslims in India have protested against it.

This is not the first time this kind of thing is happening in India. Some years ago government's decision make Surya Namaskar and chants compulsory in government schools was toned down after Muslim bodies moved court against it.

In 2007 Chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan had announced holding a state-wide 'surya namaskar' and yoga program in all government run schools on January 25. It was compulsory for every student to take part in that program.
Various Muslim groups protested against it and moved to court. After that the High Court ordered that participation in it would not be compulsory, but voluntary.

The petitions claimed that 'surya namaskar'was part of worship system of a religion and that worship of sun was forbidden in certain religious communities. Therefore, it should be voluntary as students come from different religious backgrounds, it pleaded.

Giving the interim order, the HC said, no student shall be compelled to take part in the 'surya namaskar'and added no action including expulsion and de-recognition of schools would be done for not taking part in the program.
http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2007-01-25/india/27888634_1_surya-namaskar-surya-namaskar-and-mp-schools

Again the state government of MP doing something similar to 2007 but this time its bigger. It is making it compulsory for young Muslims in Urdu and Islamic schools to read chapters from Gita. Today they want to force Muslim students to read gita tomorrow they will ask them to worship their idols. All this needs to be stopped and Indian Muslims are rightfully protesting against it. Muslims have the freedom to decide what they want to do and no one can force their beliefs on them.

It must be very clear that a Muslim cannot bend in front of  or worship any other god expect Allah. Allah is the one he is the almighty. As far as surya namaskar is concerned Muslims cannot bend in front of a false god Sun or chant mantras. Hinduism is a pagan religion and pagans worship these kinds of things; sun, moon etc..
Islam is a Monotheistic religion, Muslims believe in one god that is Allah now do you want Muslims to become polytheistic idol worshipers.
Surely Hindus question this ideology and ask Muslims to change their beliefs but will a Hindu change his belief , will a Hindu eat cow or stop animal sacrifice carried out in various temples?  No.
In the surya namaskar case Muslim organizations rightly said  'surya namaskar'was performed with chanting Hindu 'mantras' which is not allowed in Islam. Even if mantras are not chanted bending in front of a false god is a major sin.
Surely there are various saffron Hindu forces that like the decision of MP government and want to create communal tensions.
If a Muslim wants to Study Gita willingly just as a study then its fine but no one can compel him to read it.

Most fundamental pillar of Islam "There is no deity worthy of worship except the One True Almighty God ie; Allah" (in Arabic: "La ilaha ill Allah").


From Hindustan Times:
The state government’s decision to include chapters on the Bhagavad Gita in Urdu medium schools, starting from Class 1 and 2, from this academic session has sparked a new controversy. The decision has earned the ire of Muslim organizations.

Several such organizations have come out against the government’s decision and have said if required they would seek court intervention in the matter.

“The decision to include chapters on Gita in government schools itself is wrong and unconstitutional. Now, by including Gita in the syllabus of Urdu medium schools and in Urdu books is like adding insult to injury,” said member of Muslim personal law board Arif Masood.

He termed the government’s decision as interference in religion.

Those who wish to study Gita can go ahead but others should be provided with an alternative.

Muslims would protest this decision tooth and nail and would knock on court’s door if the government does not reconsider its decision, said Masood.

MP unit of Coordination Committee for Indian Muslims has also opposed and condemned the decision. Secretary of the committee, Javed Akhtar asks why the government has chosen only the Bhagavad Gita to impart moral lessons.

India is a secular country and such decisions are against the spirit of communal harmony. “We would definitely take legal recourse,” said Akhtar.

“Such decisions go against the spirit of a secular state. I remember before 1970s, the state government had a book in schools where chapters on Guru Govind Singh, Bible and Islam were incorporated in some form or another. That book disappeared gradually,” said Mohammad Mahir, president of Muslim Vikas Parishad.

If government’s intention is really to teach moral lessons then teachings from all religions should be included, said Mahir.

Social activist Abdul Jabbar said it is really ironical that Urdu has now been associated with a religion.

Earlier, it was considered only as a language that everybody studied; now it has been confined to Muslims alone.

Moreover, the decision of teaching Gita in Urdu medium is another attempt to relate it exclusively to Muslims.

The government should try to teach Islamic preaching as well especially misconceptions spread about Islam.
http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/Bhopal/Muslim-organisations-threaten-to-move-court/Article1-1103489.aspx

"It is unconstitutional," said Haleem Khan, member of the Centre's National Monitoring Committee for Minority Education. "If the government does not take back its decision, we will go to the court."

The true face of Hindu led government in Madhya Pradesh has been unveiled. Various Muslim organizations in India have protested against it and now this matter will go to court. Hopefully the verdict will be righteous and in favor of Muslim community.

- By Arslan Khan
( B.A in Islamic Studies, PG Diploma in Journalism, Delhi)

The Maulanas and Dargahs promoting education and competitiveness in Muslim youth

Muslim maulanas (clerics) and dargahs (religious shrines) dot the landscape of Muslim India – the cities and towns where India’s Muslims live. Having grown up in India, the scenes of multitudes of worshippers thronging the shrines and bearded maulanas lecturing away to the congregations are ingrained in my mind. Countless movies and TV coverage of religious occasions have further reinforced these images over the years. Many people stereotype the extraordinary educational and socioeconomic backwardness of the Muslims of India with the sub-culture of dargahs and maulanas that is pervasive in the lower middleclass Indian Muslim community.

On the other end of the spectrum of the Indian society are the images of successful bright Indian youth who compete fiercely for top professional opportunities like IAS/IFS/IPS civil services and the bright eyed engineers from IITs (Indian Institute of Technology) and doctors from prominent medical colleges entering promising careers in the modern fields of engineering and medicine.
The two images are poles apart. Yet in recent weeks my attention has been pleasantly drawn to the two images coming together for a few Muslims. No, they did not crack the Powerball lottery. A counted few among the lecturing maulanas and the maudlin dargahs took a big leap forward and bridged the vast gap between the two images to make it possible for a few ordinary Muslim youth to touch the modern Indian moon. Let me share this pleasant observation with you in the following.

Maulana Mohammad Fazlur Rahim Mujaddidi’s Crescent Civil Service Academy, New Delhi
About ten years ago Maulana Mujaddidi, a very respected Muslim cleric, established the Crescent Academy in New Delhi as a division of the Maulana Abdur Rahim Educational Trust, with a vision of providing proper guidance, academic coaching and training to the Muslim aspirants for the country’s topmost Civil Services (IAS/IFS/IPS etc).

Typically every year less than 1 percent successful candidates are Muslim. In the just announced results for the very tough multipart competition for these coveted careers for 2013, 13 trainees from the Crescent Academy came through as successful candidates. In fact 30 candidates from the Academy were successful in the first round examinations and 19 cleared the main IAS examination.

It should be noted that to-date the Academy with its limited infrastructure and resources, has been able to produce more than 100 IAS, IPS, IFS, IRS, judges and State civil servants throughout the country. These are the very top government services in India and the careers lead to their being the makers of the top policies in the country.

Maulana Wali Rahmani’s Rahmani-30 IIT Entrance Coaching Center, Patna
About five years ago Maulana Rahmani, another very respected Muslim cleric, established this coaching center to provide academic and competitive training to Muslim youth who aspire to enter the Indian Institutes of Technology - India’s most prestigious engineering colleges. Typically every year no more than about 1% Muslim youth are successful in enrolling in the IITs. The results of the competitive examination held for 2013 announced last week show that 24, mostly Muslim, of the 30 candidates from the Rahmani-30 Center cracked the IIT-JEE (Joint Entrance Examination).

Besides the 24, four students of Rahmani-30 who could not clear the test last year have also got success this year. These 28 candidates have qualified for IIT-JEE Advance test to be held in June.

Typically graduates of IITs go on to work in prestigious positions in the country’s top corporations, or multinational corporations or receive employment in foreign countries.

Khaja Bandanawaz Gaisudaraz Dargah’s Engineering College and Institute of Medical Sciences, Gulbarga
Khaja Bandanawaz Gaisudaraz, who passed away in 1422, was a illustrious sufi saint who settled in Gulbarga, Karnatak at the invitation of the then Bahmani Sultan Tajuddin Firoz Shah. He was a disciple of the very illustrious sufi saint Hazrat Nasiruddin Chiragh Dehlvi. His ancient dargah in Gulbarga is a popular center of attraction in south India.

In 1966 the Dargah’s Trust established the Khaja Education Society to promote education in the educationally backward Muslim community. They started with a school for girls and now operate 15 minority educational institutions in Gulbarga, including the Khaja Bandanawaz College of Engineering established in 1980 and the Khaja Bandanawaz Institute of Medical Sciences established in 2000. The pioneering spirit behind the Khaja Education Society has been the Dargah Trust and Padamshree Shah Mohammad Hussaini who passed away recently.

Without a doubt this dargah is totally different from the thousands of dargahs spread throughout the country, in that it has put its primary focus on imparting modern high education to the Muslims. Also they have been so eminently successful in transforming youth from the backward Muslim community into high quality engineers and doctors, who are helping uplift the Muslim community and the country into a modern nation.

Spread the secrets of success
One important factor for the handful of brilliant success stories in the Muslim community enumerated above is the close cooperation between the Muslim religious leaders and the Muslim intelligentsia leaders.

Instead of competing with each other or ignoring each other, they pooled the street popularity of the religious folks with the knowledge of modern education of the educated Muslims to make it a win-win situation for the community.

These undoubtedly rare success stories in India’s Muslim community make one wonder how much socioeconomic development can take place in the community if many more maulanas and dargahs dedicate themselves to the cause of imparting quality modern education and competitive ability to the Muslim youth and include the well educated Muslims in their team. Instead of spending so much time and energy on political and publicity activities if we spend more of it on the development of our youth, we can change the community’s picture drastically in just one generation.
- By Kaleem Kawaja

Media accusing a Muslim of insulting national song Vande Mataram

Shafiqur Rahman Barq, a BSP member from Sambhal in Uttar Pradesh, was seen walking out of the lower house as Vande Mataram was being played before the house was adjourned.
After the incident the speaker of the house Meira Kumar got angry and said."One honourable member walked out when Vande Mataram was being played. I take very serious view of this. I would want to know why this was done. This should never happen again," she said.

After the incident the Hindu majority media started accusing Shafiqur Rahman Barq of  insulting the national song.
Then Shafiqur Rahman Barq came out and in an interview to CNN IBN, like a true Muslim tiger Barq said he is not sorry for what he did  as he has not done anything wrong.
"I won't apologise to anyone. I respect the National Anthem, not the national song Vande Mataram. Vande Mataram is an ode to motherland. Muslims like me bend only before Allah, not before any other god".
"I request that Muslims not be compelled to sing this song since it is against the Sharia.. the song tells people to bow before Bharat Mata,” he said.
 “India is a democracy, there is secularism here. Under secularism when there are 30 crore Muslims living in the country you have to be considerate towards their emotions as well,” Burq said.

Now it is true that a Muslim cannot bend in front of Bharat mata or worship her as this song suggests, a Muslim can only bend in front of Allah and no one else.



The supreme court has clearly said if Muslims don't want to follow this song as it hurts their religious sentiments then they are free to not sing this song and no one can force them
If Indian supreme court has no problem then why media is so angered by this.

See the reaction of Hindu media

Discussion on it by media good to see Muslim participants supporting Shafiqur Rahman Barq.

This song is a hymn to bharat mata and and Muslims cannot bend in from of any so called imaginary mata. Allah is the only truth and Islam the true religion and Muslims cannot follow false gods. A Muslim only bends in front of Allah. Shafiqur Rahman Barq is following true Islamic beliefs and he did nothing wrong. Any Muslim having basic knowledge will not stand up for the Vande Matram as is like bhoomi pooja and we pray only Allah.